By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Another 18 miles of sewer lines in Hays will be cleaned starting Monday, Aug. 24., in an area located generally south of 27th Street between Ash and Vine Streets.

This is the third year the city has contracted with Mayer Specialty Services of Goddard to do the work, according to Bernie Kitten, director of utilities. The project will take about two months and is scheduled to be completed by Oct. 24.

In addition to preventative maintenance which significantly reduces the chance for damaging sewer blockages and backups, the workers will inspect the condition of the sewer lines. In some areas of Hays, the sewer lines are 75 to 100 years old and need to be replaced, Kitten explained.

“This company has camera equipment and trained technicians that know how to look at cracks and breaks, roots, and other things in the sewer line.  Right after they clean these, they send their TV camera in–a little rover–and run it through the pipe.  It videos all the lines.  The operator runs it by remote control and he’ll see a crack.  He logs it–1 through 5–as to how bad it is.  Then he’ll log that data.

“We are collecting that data to create a new project–sewer repair.  They’re getting data for that project which is starting soon,” Kitten said.

The hike in sewer rates for Hays customers approved last week by the city commission will be used in part to fund sewer line repair and replacement.  There are 120 miles of sanitary sewer lines in Hays.

Door hanger notices will be placed on homes affected the day before the cleaning. Click here for more information.